8mm Magnum

Dear THR,
Kindly discuss the uses of 8mm magnum. I have not understood its use and particular place among similar calibers.
Thanks

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SaxonPig

May 1, 2012, 06:44 PM

Well, it's slightly bigger than the 300 Magnum, and slightly smaller than the 338 Magnum. Recoil is significant and bullet selection is less than the 308 bore calibers. The 8mm Rem Mag never took off for these and other reasons. I would not go looking for one but if I stumbled upon one at a great price and was in need of a medium magnum rifle it would do.

Lloyd Smale

May 1, 2012, 07:55 PM

I have one and like it. It hits game as hard as a 338 and shoots slightly flatter. Kind of a combo of the 300mags trajectory with the 338 mags hitting power. With a 220 sierra loaded up to full velocity its very flat shooting. Granted both the 300 mags and the 338 will kill anything the 8mag will but then the same can be said comparing the 300 to the 338. In my opinion the 300wby, 8mag and 338 are about the limit in recoil that the average guy can handle comfortably.

matrem

May 1, 2012, 09:16 PM

That one used to intrigue me too when it came out. It was available in the 700 in the late seventies, which was somewhat affordable compared to some of the other "extreme" rounds of the day.
I believe it's the same case as the .300- .340 Weatherbys (without the "double radius shoulder" ?)
7mm STW does use that case.
Had the .323 bullet manufatureres got on board, I'd have gone on less dates & got one then.
Unfortunately, the bullet makers still aren't on board.

tahoe2

May 1, 2012, 10:57 PM

nuthin wrong with an 8mm mag if your shoulder can handle it? mine can't, but I love my 8mm mausers (3 of them).
There seems to be enough bullet selection for my taste. And I can hunt all of North America with em (cept maybe the biggest Brown Bears),
even more-so with the 8mm Mag!!

303tom

May 1, 2012, 11:13 PM

Just another Holland & Holland if you ask me..............

9mmepiphany

May 2, 2012, 01:57 AM

Anyone remember the .375/8mm JRS (John R. Sundra) which gave you a .375 H&H Magnum with a sharp shoulder...interesting as the 8mm is the H&H case necked down and blown out. The advantage of the more efficient 8mm case was that you could use it with .375 H&H ammo in a pinch.

The 8mm Magnum also gave birth to the .416 Remington Magnum

DM~

May 2, 2012, 11:01 AM

I don't know why people worry about bullet selection so much.

If i had an 8 mag. i'd use 200NP's in it, and know absolutely "forsure" that it would easily kill the biggest baddest bears in the US and Canada. I also know that, that bullet would work perfectly for deer/elk/moose ect...

So why would i worry about having less bullet choises than some of the other cartridges?

It's recoil and muzzle blast that keeps me away from the big magnums, not bullet choises!

DM

MachIVshooter

May 2, 2012, 11:36 AM

It's a great cartridge that never took off. Basically, it'll match .300 RUM ballistics with a little less powder (80-85 grs. instead of 95-100 grs.) Of course, the .323" bullets of the same weight as .308" bullets don't have quite as high a ballistic coefficient, but this only translates to a few inches at 500 yards.

The 8mm mag can push 180 gr. bullets in excess of 3,300 FPS or 220 grainers at 3,000 from a 24" barrel without even maxxing out the charge.

I heard if an 8mm Rem Mag and a .25 WSSM case touch, they will annihilate each other in a burst of gamma rays.

It's on my list... but pretty far down admittedly.

Too bad 8mm doesn't have the bullet selection .338" does.

MachIVshooter

May 2, 2012, 10:51 PM

I heard if an 8mm Rem Mag and a .25 WSSM case touch, they will annihilate each other in a burst of gamma rays.

I have witnessed this phenomenon.

Too bad 8mm doesn't have the bullet selection .338" does.

It doesn't, but still pretty decent. That, and unless you're shooting in a magnum action, .338 Win Mag can't make good use of the heavy .338" bullets due to OAL. 250 gr. is about it without seriously encroaching on powder capacity. Of course, the Ultra mag and Lapua can handle the 300's just fine.

At the time of it's indroduction, the .323" bullet selection was abysmal, and that certainly didn't help the round get a foot hold. Today, the selection is 10x what it was in 1978, but the writing is on the wall and the big 8 will never compete with the various .300 and .338 magnums on a sales level.

The good news is that Double Tap actually does offer 8 mag loads that give the non-handloader a level of performance Remington factory ammo never has. Remington currently only offers the 200 gr. A-frame at a sedate 2,900 FPS. But DT is loading 160, 180, 200, 220 & 250 gr. pills, and they're pretty close to maximum performance:

I have never actually tested them, but seeing as I can hit those numbers in a 24" gun with full loads, I have no reason to doubt Mike's numbers.

1948CJ2A

May 8, 2012, 10:03 PM

Dear THR,
Kindly discuss the uses of 8mm magnum. I have not understood its use and particular place among similar calibers.
Thanks

I think it's a terrific Alaska rifle for moose and bear hunting. I picked one up a little over a year ago. I have it in my whitetail deer hunting rotation but it is overkill. Someday I'd like to take it up into Alaska or Canada and do some really big game hunting with it.

I shoot 180 Nosler Ballistic Tips in it for deer hunting. I also have some 200 gr Accubonds that I've tried out. I can really tell the difference in recoil between those 200s and 180s. The darn things hits the targets like a freight train.

I think there is a little 8mm Mag cult developing over the past few years. It's really flown under the radar for many years.

4sixteen

May 8, 2012, 10:27 PM

One more, also used to invent the 375 JRS. :)

MachIVshooter

May 8, 2012, 11:57 PM

I think there is a little 8mm Mag cult developing over the past few years.

As much as I'd like to believe that, I think we just see more about it here because THR has and is gaining so many members, and we have real diversity among shooters. Seriously, almost any gun-related thing you google will turn up at least one or two THR links on page 1.

It's a great round, and every now and then someone discovers that and buys one. DT loading it may have given it a small boost as well. But, despite it's ballistic advantage in many cases, there's really nothing it does that various .300 and .338 mags won't. For this reason, I don't see it ever being more than a niche round, adored by those of us who use it, but largely unkown by everyone else.

In point of fact, the inch-designated .325 WSM did even worse than the big 8. We're just not enamored with .323" caliber over here for some reason.

9mmepiphany

May 9, 2012, 02:25 AM

One more, also used to invent the 375 JRS. :)
I guess you overlooked post #7?

1948CJ2A

May 9, 2012, 12:55 PM

As much as I'd like to believe that, I think we just see more about it here because THR has and is gaining so many members, and we have real diversity among shooters. Seriously, almost any gun-related thing you google will turn up at least one or two THR links on page 1.

It's a great round, and every now and then someone discovers that and buys one. DT loading it may have given it a small boost as well. But, despite it's ballistic advantage in many cases, there's really nothing it does that various .300 and .338 mags won't. For this reason, I don't see it ever being more than a niche round, adored by those of us who use it, but largely unkown by everyone else.

In point of fact, the inch-designated .325 WSM did even worse than the big 8. We're just not enamored with .323" caliber over here for some reason.

I was basing most of that comment off the fact that G&A featured it in their reloads section in the past year or two, which usually stirs interest (see .224 WBY). Additionally, when I went to buy mine it seemed like the prices had shot up considerably since the last time I had looked. I know that firearm prices overall have trended that way especially since the <edit> in the White House got elected. But it seemed like the increase in the 8mm Mag (used) prices was exponentially more. I didn't put a pencil to it but that was my take on it anyhow.

Hey, you wanta go ahead and just form one? :) Maybe we can get a dedicated 8MM Mag website going. :D

MachIVshooter

May 9, 2012, 01:14 PM

Hey, you wanta go ahead and just form one? Maybe we can get a dedicated 8MM Mag website going.

Not a bad idea. I think to get more traffic, would be well suited to do a Remington Magnum site for 5mm, 6.5mm, 7mm, .300 RUM, 8mm, etc.

1948CJ2A

May 9, 2012, 01:31 PM

Not a bad idea. I think to get more traffic, would be well suited to do a Remington Magnum site for 5mm, 6.5mm, 7mm, .300 RUM, 8mm, etc.

Yea - a site dedicated to Remington Magnum cartridges & rifles would be great. Of course, I'd be inclined to do a Weatherby Magnum site as well....

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